The Emerging Right-Wing “Resistance”

We wrote about Grassfire.org a few times back in 2007 during the height of the immigration debate and then, once the issue died down, stopped paying attention to them because, with their core issues no longer on the table, they seemed to lose focus and stagnated.

But then I came across this Buzzflash piece that informed us that not only is Grassfire back in business, they have re-formed themselves as the home of the “patriotic, resilient, conservative resistance” to Barack Obama:

Grassfire.org has launched this “Join The Resistance” campaign to give grassroots conservatives a place to join together around the common goal of holding off as much of the Obama agenda as possible. Our goal is to bring together 1 million Resisters by Inauguration Day. That would give us one-tenth of the 10 million Obama loyalists who were recruited during the campaign, but we believe 1 million equipped Resisters can make a difference.

The key will be providing web-based structures that truly equip conservatives to Resist. We begin here – by building this email network to give us the ability to respond immediately to each and every effort by the Obama administration to undermine our liberties. We plan to add to this platform social networking that will connect Resisters to others in their communities. We are also exploring ways to put the tools of the Resistance into your hands through mobile phone-based apps that allow you to Resist on the go. We will use fax, email, phone, and personal visit campaigns to press our case with leaders in Washington, D.C., who need to know that millions oppose Obama’s rush to the Left …

Resisting is just the first step. That is why we propose a three-phased recovery for conservatives: Resist, Rebuild, and Restore. We believe that resisting will create newfound unity among conservatives. Out of this, we must then Rebuild our structures. New, invigorating models must be developed that inform, equip and bring together conservatives and prepare us to return our ideas to political prominence. The Internet will be a key battleground The Left has moved far ahead in its embrace of and usage of new 2.0 technologies. The Rebuild process will leave Americans with a clear ideological and practical choice between the Left’s statist model and our model based on God-given individual liberties.

Having rebuilt, we can then Restore conservative ideas to leadership by winning elections. Ultimately, a movement’s ideas must result in electoral victories because that is the basis for legitimate authority and ultimately for implementing one’s ideas. Grassfire.org will soon be announcing a breakthrough effort that will allow our members to get engaged directly in the election process. Stay tuned.

Resist. Rebuild. Restore. It’s not an easy path for grassroots conservatives, but it is a clear path. We know what we must do. And it begins with resisting rightly — respecting the new President but never backing away from the God-given ideals of freedom and liberty upon which this nation was founded.

I have to say that the Right’s sudden penchant for referring to itself as some sort of “resistance movement” is taking on a militia-esque tone that is getting to be a little bit disturbing.